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| The Hangover (film) | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Hangover |
| Caption | Theatrical release poster |
| Director | Todd Phillips |
| Producer | Daniel Goldberg, Todd Phillips, Chris Bender, J.C. Spink |
| Writer | Jon Lucas, Scott Moore |
| Starring | Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham |
| Music | Christophe Beck |
| Cinematography | Lawrence Sher |
| Editing | Debra Neil-Fisher |
| Studio | Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Silver Pictures |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Released | June 5, 2009 |
| Runtime | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million |
| Gross | $467.5 million |
The Hangover (film) is a 2009 American comedy directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film follows three friends who retrace their steps after a bachelor party in Las Vegas results in a missing groom and a blackout night. The movie became a commercial phenomenon and spawned sequels that influenced comedy franchises and studio strategies in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Phil Wenneck, Stu Price, and Alan Garner travel to Las Vegas for Doug Billings's bachelor party before his wedding to Tracy Garner. After a night of partying at a suite on the Las Vegas Strip near Caesars Palace, the three wake up with no memory, a trashed suite, a baby in a closet, a tiger in the bathroom, and Doug missing. They find a parking ticket, a finger belonging to Doug, and a message to call their friend Leslie Chow. The trio visits a series of locations linked to their blackout: a chapel owned by Frank Sinatra memorabilia, a wedding at the Little White Wedding Chapel, a casino cage, and a penthouse connected to Mike Tyson. Along the way they encounter a roadblock by Narcotics Bureau officers, an encounter with a man named Sid, and interactions with an uncooperative dentist named Dr. Sherman. They gradually piece together events involving a car theft linked to a member of the United States Air Force, a fight at a nightclub run by a promoter tied to Cirque du Soleil, and a mistaken abduction of a Chinese gangster associated with a casino syndicate. The mystery resolves when Doug is found on top of a tower at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino about to be married, having been inadvertently transported there during the blackout; the friends arrive just in time for Tracy's wedding at a Suburban Chapel. The film closes with consequences for each character, including revelations leading to future legal and personal developments.
The film stars a principal ensemble: Bradley Cooper as Phil Wenneck, Ed Helms as Stu Price, Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner, and Justin Bartha as Doug Billings. Supporting roles include Heather Graham as Jade, Ken Jeong as Leslie Chow, Jeffrey Tambor as Sid Garner, Rachael Harris as Melissa, and Mike Tyson appearing as himself. The cast features cameo and ensemble actors drawn from Saturday Night Live alumni networks and United Talent Agency rosters, as well as character actors with credits in The Office (American TV series), Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Seinfeld. Crew and casting choices connected the production to agents and managers at Creative Artists Agency and used performers experienced in Improv comedy ensembles such as The Groundlings, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and Second City. Key collaborators included production personnel who had worked with Phillips on Old School and Starsky & Hutch, and stunt coordinators from Jackass-adjacent projects.
Development began after Phillips and his team secured financing from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures. Jon Lucas and Scott Moore delivered a script that combined elements drawn from party comedies and road movies like The Blues Brothers, National Lampoon's Animal House, and Three Kings. Principal photography took place in Las Vegas Strip locations including suites near Caesars Palace and exteriors around Fremont Street Experience, with second-unit shoots on the Las Vegas Boulevard and interior sets built at studios associated with Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank. Casting choices included actors from Columbia Pictures Television and independent film circuits represented by William Morris Endeavor (WME). The production navigated permits from the Clark County film office and coordinated with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for on-location sequences. Costume design referenced men's fashion lines from Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren, while the soundtrack license negotiations involved agencies representing music by Christophe Beck and rights holders connected to songs by The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Guns N' Roses, and Tina Turner.
Warner Bros. released the film in the United States on June 5, 2009, positioning it against summer releases from Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. The Hangover opened at number one at the North American box office, surpassing grosses for titles distributed by Universal Pictures and competing with offerings from Sony Pictures Entertainment. It achieved record per-theater averages for an R-rated comedy and grossed approximately $467.5 million worldwide against a production budget near $35 million. The film's performance influenced studio release calendars for summer blockbuster strategies and prompted international distribution deals with partners in United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, China, and Japan. Home media releases were handled by Warner's home entertainment division and included Blu-ray and DVD editions with special features for marketing via Netflix and rental outlets like Redbox.
Critical reception combined praise for the film's comedic ensemble and sharp pacing with criticism focused on perceived tasteless humor and stereotypes. Reviews in major outlets compared its improvisational style to Christopher Guest's ensemble comedies and invoked the influence of Paul Thomas Anderson only in passing when discussing cinematography by Lawrence Sher. Audience responses led to strong word-of-mouth, visible in high scores on audience-driven platforms and ticket sales tracked by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. The film received nominations and awards attention from organizations such as the Golden Globe Awards and the MTV Movie Awards, and boosted the profiles of its principal actors in subsequent year-end lists compiled by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
The film spawned a direct sequel produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, leading to titles filmed in locations including Bangkok, which connected production to regional agencies in Thailand. The box-office success encouraged studios to develop franchise models for adult-oriented comedies, impacting greenlight decisions across Warner Bros. and competitors like Paramount. The Hangover franchise influenced casting trends favoring ensemble chemistry seen later in films distributed by Lionsgate and independent labels, and it led to merchandising, television development talks with HBO-adjacent producers, and theme-park licensing conversations with companies such as Merlin Entertainments. Its economic impact was analyzed in trade publications including Deadline Hollywood and The Wall Street Journal.
Category:2009 films